Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database

9606

Plutarch, Roman Questions, 63
nan Why is the so-called rex sacrorum, that is to say king of the sacred rites, forbidden to hold office or to address the people? Cf. Livy, ii. 2. 1-2; ix. 34. 12; xl. 42. Is it because in early times the kings performed the greater part of the most important rites, and themselves offered the sacrifices with the assistance of the priests? But when they did not practise moderation, but were arrogant and oppressive, most of the Greek states took away their authority, and left to them only the offering of sacrifice to the gods: but the Romans expelled their kings altogether, and to offer the sacrifices they appointed another, whom they did not allow to hold office or to address the people, so that in their sacred rites only they might seem to be subject to a king, and to tolerate a kingship only on the gods’ account. Ibid. iii. 39. 4. At any rate, there is a sacrifice traditionally performed in the forum at the place called Comitium, and, when the rex has performed this, he flees from the forum as fast as he can. The Regifugium ; Cf. Ovid, Fasti, ii. 685 ff.: see the Cambridge Ancient History, vol. vii. p. 408.
nan Why is the so‑called rex sacrorum, that is to say "king of the sacred rites," forbidden to hold office or to address the people? Is it because in early times the kings performed greater part of the most important rites, and themselves offered the sacrifices with the assistance of the priests? But when they did not practise moderation, but were arrogant and oppressive, most of the Greek states took away their authority, and left to them only the offering of the sacrifice to the gods; but the Romans expelled their kings altogether, and to offer the sacrifices they appointed another, whom they did not allow to hold office or to address the people, so that in their sacred rites only they might seem to be subject to a king, and to tolerate a kingship only on the gods' account. At any rate, there is a sacrifice traditionally performed in the forum at the place called Comitium, and, when the rex has performed this, he flees from the forum as fast as he can.

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subject	book bibliographic info
apopompeˉ,ritual	Rüpke (2011) 76
ara,arx	Rüpke (2011) 27
calare	Rüpke (2011) 77
calata	Rüpke (2011) 27
calendars,greek	Rüpke (2011) 76
caristia	Rüpke (2011) 77
chronology	Rüpke (2011) 76
comitium	Rüpke (2011) 27, 76
curia calabra	Rüpke (2011) 27
dead,cult of the	Rüpke (2011) 76
equirria	Rüpke (2011) 76, 77
euander	Rüpke (2011) 27
feast days	Rüpke (2011) 76
february	Rüpke (2011) 76, 77
feralia	Rüpke (2011) 77
feriae,menstruae	Rüpke (2011) 77
festus	Rüpke (2011) 27, 76
juno	Rüpke (2011) 27, 77
laws,sacral law	Rüpke (2011) 77
lemnos	Rüpke (2011) 76
lex,acilia	Rüpke (2011) 76, 77
lunar month	Rüpke (2011) 77
m. porcius cato censorius	Rüpke (2011) 77
m. terentius varro	Rüpke (2011) 27
m. verrius flaccus	Rüpke (2011) 76
march	Rüpke (2011) 76, 77
month,intercalary month	Rüpke (2011) 76, 77
moon phases and juno	Rüpke (2011) 27, 77
nefas	Rüpke (2011) 27
new years day	Rüpke (2011) 76
nundinal letters	Rüpke (2011) 76
nundinum	Rüpke (2011) 27, 76
peoples assembly,assembly days	Rüpke (2011) 77
plutarch	Rüpke (2011) 76
pontifex maximus	Rüpke (2011) 27
priests	Rüpke (2011) 27
promulgation,calendar	Rüpke (2011) 27
qrcf day	Rüpke (2011) 27, 76, 77
regifugium	Rüpke (2011) 27, 76, 77
regina sacrorum	Rüpke (2011) 27
rex sacrorum	Rüpke (2011) 27, 76, 77
sacrificium	Rüpke (2011) 27
temples,closed	Rüpke (2011) 76
terminalia	Rüpke (2011) 76, 77
triumph'	Rüpke (2011) 76
tubilustrium	Rüpke (2011) 27, 76